Pop the climate question!

In the next fortnight, two political debates that could decide the future of this country will be at the

Tristan is rearing to Ask the Climate Question!

centre of media attention in the North West. There will be arguments aplenty, more than one candidate will claim victory but they won’t take place in Birmingham or London and they definitely won’t be a spin alley. On the 21^st April Oxfam hosts the ‘Ask the Climate Question’ hustings in the South Ribble Banqueting Hall. It’s followed a week later on the 28^th by another one, this time in Bury North at the Fusilier Museum in Bury. They will challenge parliamentary candidates in two of the countries closest constituencies to explain where they stand on the issue of Climate Change and could potentially prove crucial come May 5^th.

As a self-confessed politics geek with a passion for tackling climate change it’s been a joy to be charged with helping organise these events. In fact all we need is the addition of Eric Cantona as chair and this is about as close to my perfect job as I can imagine. Geekiness and footballing legends aside though, the real reason these debates are so important to me is because climate change is so crucial an issue. Just as the injustice of apartheid led so many good people to act in the late 80s and early 90s, so too the threat of climate change requires positive action now.  With people suffering day in day out because of it, it’s surely our generation’s great cause and the one that we will come to be judged on. After all it’s not about rolling back the comforts of the modern age but taking the small steps that could make such a massive difference. That’s why I think it’s not just an election issue but also THE election issue. So come Wednesday I’ll be there climate change question at hand and ears wide open.

In a week in which the second historic leadership tv debate takes place, it could be easy to think there was only one event that mattered. That’s not the case. So if you live in South Ribble or Bury North, why not take part in your own piece of history by coming to your local hustings and asking the climate question.